A novel celebrating the life and deeds of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani premiered Wednesday evening at a state-backed ceremony in the heart of Moscow, underscoring the deepening cultural and political ties between the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The book launch, hosted by Iran’s cultural department in Russia, highlights a sophisticated effort by Tehran to extend its ideological influence beyond the Middle East into Europe’s largest nation and a global power broker.
The novel, titled ‘The Jackals Cannot Defeat the Lion’ and authored by Russian writer Oleg Roy, was produced at the initiative and expense of the Iranian regime. Presented as a literary tribute, the event instead functioned as a platform to solidify the narrative of Soleimani as a heroic and immortalized figure, rather than the commander of Iran’s notorious extraterritorial terror apparatus. The book is being sold at 1,000 rubles (approximately 42 shekels), a high price by Russian standards, signaling not only its niche audience but the regime’s investment in high-impact information efforts.
Tehran’s Expanding Propaganda Campaign
The launch forms part of a much wider Iranian soft-power campaign spanning public events, cultural diplomacy, and extensive publishing programs. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), headed by Soleimani until his death in a targeted U.S. drone strike in Baghdad in 2020, has prioritized narrative warfare as a complement to military and intelligence operations across the region. Through books, film, and strategic partnerships, Iran seeks to frame its own terror leaders as freedom fighters, erase the crimes of proxy militias, and recast self-defense by Israel and the West as acts of aggression.
Soleimani’s Real Legacy
Qassem Soleimani functioned as chief strategist and executor of Iran’s global terror policy, directing the Quds Force to train, arm, and finance groups such as Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Shiite militias in Iraq, and the Houthis in Yemen. His tenure left a trail of violence, civilian casualties, hostage-taking, and destabilization from Baghdad to the Negev, all directed toward eliminating Western influence and ultimately erasing Israel.
Internationally, Soleimani is recognized by Israel, the United States, and Western powers as an architect of sustained regional warfare and atrocities committed by Iranian-backed entities. His legacy is inseparable from the October 7, 2023 massacre—the deadliest terrorist attack against Jews since the Holocaust—an operation orchestrated by the same network of Iranian proxies he spent decades building.
Russian-Iranian Alliance: A New Front in Information War
The collaboration between Russia and Iran, previously centered on military and intelligence cooperation in Syria and Ukraine, has transformed in recent years into a robust partnership in the realms of culture, economics, and ideology. Both states share an adversarial posture toward the West and are subject to harsh international sanctions, prompting a convergence of interests. Iranian cultural events in Moscow, such as this book launch, form a visible part of a broader strategy to sway Russian public opinion, legitimize anti-Western governance, and foster mutual support on the world stage.
The Kremlin’s willingness to permit, and indeed encourage, the glorification of a UN- and U.S.-sanctioned terror commander on Russian soil speaks volumes about Moscow’s priorities. The event underscores a disregard for Western sensibilities regarding Iran’s terror role and signals a growing ideological partnership between the two governments.
Propaganda Through Literature
Iranian-backed cultural productions are not new, but their visibility in Russia marks an escalation. Literature has emerged as a credible front for the dissemination of regime narratives—a fact appreciated by the IRGC and Iran’s Ministry of Culture, which sponsor seminars, translations, and high-profile launches. In Russia’s climate of restricted press freedom and state-managed culture, these events offer minimal dissent or counter-narrative.
By positioning Soleimani as the ‘lion’ standing against ‘jackals’ (a thinly veiled allusion to America, Israel, and their allies), the novel perpetuates the regime’s broader disinformation campaign and its effort to erase the actual record of Quds Force violence, terrorism, and systematic abuse.
Broader Impact and Strategic Significance
Western analysts, Israeli officials, and human rights campaigners have all condemned the event, warning that the spread of such narratives emboldens regional terrorists and undermines efforts to expose real-world atrocities. Israeli officials have noted that the propagation of Soleimani’s cult is particularly alarming as Iran’s proxies continue to escalate attacks on Israel and Western interests, most recently with the October 7 massacre and subsequent rocket assaults directed by Tehran’s network.
The sale price of the book only underscores its elite and propagandistic purpose—few ordinary Russians can afford it, pointing to its orientation toward officials, intellectuals, and opinion shapers rather than public enlightenment.
The Moral Dimension
The stakes extend beyond narrative rivalry. By normalizing Iran’s most notorious terror commander and weaponizing culture as a tool of regime legitimacy, the Russian-Iranian alliance blurs the distinction between resistance and terrorism, aggressor and defender. For Israel, the implications are clear: every venue where the truth is obscured, the risk to Israeli civilians—and to Western security at large—increases.
This is a moment for clarity and vigilance. The launch of ‘The Jackals Cannot Defeat the Lion’ in Moscow signals that the information war is every bit as real as the military one, and that the global struggle against Iranian terror now includes the battle for public memory and historical truth.
